roughshod over the viewer. The massive oil pump plopped ironically in the penguins’ enclosure at the Vienna zoo, for instance, feels a bit mean-spirited to me.

And finally, I wonder if some artists fear their authenticity creds will be endangered if they venture to create something beautiful. So many works of art, namely Sheri’s string of 2663 trashy trash bags, are just plain ugly to the eye.

That’s what was running through my head as I took in the beautiful, thoughtful Ghost Tree hovering over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, last week.

Placed there by a group called Women & Their Work as a temporary art installation called

Motorists on Lamar Bridge can get a glimpse of the Ghost Tree. Photo by BF Newhall

The Ghost Tree makes a statement — that a shocking 300 million trees died in the 2011 Texas drought.

It evokes emotion — grief at the loss of so many beautiful, nurturing living things.

Placed as it is at the heart of Austin in the water between two bridges, the tree enhances rather than belittles its environment.

And, far from alienating its viewers, the Ghost Tree creates community through a sense of shared loss.

And finally, to my grateful eyes, the Ghost Tree is just plain beautiful.

Painted a ghostly white, the tree – a 35-foot cedar elm that died in the 2011 drought – stands a

Each of the 14,00 prayer flags bears the image of a dead tree. Photo by BF Newhall

few feet above the dark waters of Lady Bird Lake (named for First Lady Lady Bird Johnson). The tree’s thirsty roots, also painted a ghostly white, are just out of reach of the water below.

Complementing the tree are 14,000 prayer flags strung along a 2.5-mile loop from Lamar Bridge to the 1stStreet Bridge and the popular Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. Each flag is silk screened with

the image of a dead tree. (The flags are white, btw. That means that, unlike the once-colorful prayer flags you see all over the Himalayas and Berkeley, they won’t be fading to a dreary gray.)

Collaborating with Women & Their Work on the creation of the installation were Beili Liu, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Texas; Emily Little and Norma Yancey, of Clayton & Little Architects, and Cassie Bergstrom, of dwg landscape architecture.

As you can see, Ginger and Ron, my Austin friends who very kindly took me and my trusty point-and-shoot for a daytime walk along the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge last week, indulged me with a second, after-dark visit to the tree.

I happened to be in Austin for a meeting of the Religion Newswriters Association, which was good timing. Installed on September 29, the Ghost Tree — temporary art installation that it is — is scheduled to be taken down on December 16.

Comments

Way to go.. Celebrate the destruction and loss of one of natures great wonders by destroying another natural resource. As of today lots of white paper in the lake, the movement of the tree and the protection. Will you personally be out tomorrow to help clean up this mess. What a complete waste of time and money and now we have more debris to clean up.. Just Awesome..

[…] another cool pedestrian bridge in Austin, Texas; see it at “The Ghost of 300 Million Drought-Killed Trees Hovers Over a Lake in Texas.” Another of my favorite places is “Pentwater, Michigan — A Small Town on a Big […]

[…] is the last of my posts about the oh-so-photogenic Austin, Texas. For more Austin stories go to “The Ghost of 300 Million Dead Trees Hovers Over a Lake in Texas” and “Quirky, Lovable Austin.” Also, “Austin — A City With Its Soul on […]